Restore PSA Testing

February 14, 2016

Black Men’s Mortality Rates by States

Black Americans die from prostate cancer at twice the rate of White Americans as shown by the legion of the above map compared to legion shown in the map below. This trend is repeated in all states where data is reported on Blacks. Note: States not reporting data on Blacks show Whites have higher death rates than other reporting states. Why?

White Men’s Mortality Rates by States

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s recommendation in 2012 against prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test for adult men of all ages has potentially increased the risk of late detection of curable prostate cancer in African Americans as acknowledged in the article Coalition of doctors advocate for smart prostate cancer screening, which posted in the Saint Louis American on January 28, 2016.

In that article Dr. Lannis Hall, director of Radiation Oncology at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital and leader of the Program to Eliminate Cancer Disparities at the Washington University School of Medicine said, “You don’t want to be diagnosed when its metastatic … you want a diagnosis when it’s localized and you have very good options for curative therapy. If you diagnose prostate cancer and its localized, you have an excellent prognosis.”

Let’s decrease prostate cancer mortality disparity. Tell the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to restore PSA testing for African American men and other men identified at high risk for the disease.